Portable foot spraying apparatus



Aug, 22, 1939. F. B. ElLERs r PRTABLE FOOT SPRAYING APPARATUS FiledApril 19, 19:58 4

Fig. 5.

lllllllllllllll INVENTOR Frederzcfr B.E1lers ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 22,1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This inventio-n relates to a portable foot vspraying apparatus, and hasfor its purpose to aiord a simple construction that can be economicallymanufactured, to be usedV in connection with swimming pools,.gymnasiums, and shower rooms, for conveniently `and. readily applyingan antiseptic or cleansing liquid to the feet in a clean and thoroughlysanitary manner.

Heretofore, the practice has been to place a solution in a shallow pan,and immerse the foot in the liquid, even though the latter has becomedirty from continued use, and itis a purpose of this invention toovercome the disadvantages of such a procedure by providing a footreceptacle separate from a liquid container, but combined in oneportable unit, and spraying the liquid on to the foot while the latteris supported above the bottom of the receptacle so that each user has afresh application. of the solution and there is no necessity ofimmersing the foot in the solution.

An additional object of the invention is to afford a practical structureinvolving a suitable foot rest in a receptacle, and a pump that can beconveniently operated and is operative to force a solution'` from thecontainer into the foot receptacle, so as to spray the foot thoroughlywhile the latter is supported on the foot rest.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in the construction andarrangement of parts that will appear clearly from the followingdescription when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, thenovel features being pointed out in the claims following thespeciflcation.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a construction made in accordance with onepractical embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional View taken centrally of the device withparts appearing in elevation;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1`

In the construction shown, which is exemplary of one embodiment of theinvention, there is provided a low foot receptacle comprising a top wallI, bottom wall 2, end walls 3, and likewise side walls, all preferablymade of sheet metal. The foot receptacle has an opening 4 in its topwall I, and 5 designates a protective bead extending around said opening4 which may be in the form of a rod welded to the adjacent edge of themetal top I, as shown in Fig. 5.

The foot rest is preferably of inverted U- shaped cross-section, asindicated at 6, and is provided at the bottom with flanges I which arewelded or otherwise permanently attached to the bottom 2 of thereceptacle, while 8 designates openings provided in the opposite wallsof the foot restl in order to permit the horizontally directed liquidspray to pass therethrough for a purpose that will appear hereinafter.

The supply of liquid is held in a container or tank that extends abovethe foot receptacle and is designated generally at 9, one end wall 3 ofthe foot receptacle constituting preferably also one side wall of theliquid container, although the device may be otherwise constructedwithout changing its` operation or effect. I5 designates a removable capthat is threaded on to a suitable collar surrounding a filling openingin the top of the container whereby the latter may be charged with thenecessary supply of liquid antiseptic.

Located in the liquid container and arranged vertically therein is adouble-acting pump comprising a stationary outer housing II that restsupon the bottom of the container and is held in place by a strap I2secured to the side wall. Located within the housing II is a tubularpiston I3 provided with ports I4, ball valve I5, and a gasket I6, whileI'I designates a ball valve arranged in the valve support I8 in thehousing I I. I9 is a pipe leading from the housing I6 near the topthereof to a spray nozzle 20 that extends through the wall 3 between theliquid container and the foot receptacle and is provided with a smallcentrally disposed opening so as to direct a fine spray in a generallyhorizontal direction toward the zone immediately above the top of thefoot rest, causing the liquid to be thoroughly sprayed upon the footwhile the latter is resting upon the top of the foot rest 6.

The. hollow plunger I3 has a handle 2| located above the liquidcontainer, and it will be understood that while the user places one footon the foot rest 5, he operates the plunger ZI upwardly and downwardly,causing `a continuous spray through the nozzle 20. During the initialupward movement of the piston, liquid is drawn in through openings 22and past the ball valve II into the housing I I beneath the piston, andwhen the latter is next moved downwardly, the liquid passes the. ball I5and fills the interior of the piston I3 and of the housing above thegasket I6. On the next up-stroke, liquid is again drawn in past the ballvalve l'l and also forced out through pipe I9, and on successivedownward and upward movements of the piston, liquid is forced outthrough openings I4 and through the pipe I9 to the spray nozzle.

Thus whenever the handle 2| is pulled upwardly andpushed downwardly,there is a continuous flow of liquid, resulting in an adequate spraythat completely envelopes the foot on the foot rest in the receptacle.By providing the openings 8 in the opposite walls of the foot rest, thespray is prevented from impinging against the Walls and forming a, mistthat would rise from the receptacle, but passes through the openings 8and trickles down to the bottom of the receptacle. When the latter hascollected a sufflcient quantity of liquid in its bottom, the en-` tiredevice can be turned over onend to empty the receptacle through theopening 4.

While the invention has` been described with reference to the particularconstruction herein disclosed, it is not confined to the details setforth, and this application is intended to cover any modifications oradaptations of the improvements coming within the purposes thereof orthe scope of the following claims.

I claim:

l. A portable foot spraying apparatus comprising a liquid container, afoot receptacle having an opening in its top Wall, a foot rest in saidreceptacle having a convex foot engaging surface above the bottom andextending transversely of the receptacle to support a foot transverselyat its central portion, and means for forcing liquid from the containerinto the receptacle in a spray directed in a generally horizontaldirection toward the zone just above said foot rest.

2. A portable foot spraying apparatus comprising a foot receptaclehaving an opening in its top wall, a foot rest in said receptacle havinga convex foot engaging surface above the bottom and extendingtransversely of the receptacle to support a foot transversely at itscentral portion, a liquid container adjacent to said receptacle andextending thereabove, a pump arranged --vertically in said liquidcontainer and includengageable with a foot transversely at its centralportion so as to leave the toes of the foot free and in spreadrelationship, and means for forcing liquid from the container into thereceptacle in a direction generally toward said foot supporting means.

v FREDERICK B. EILERS.

